Irfan Pathan retires | Gautam Gambhir hails former all-rounder, calls him a true champion

Former Indian teammate and BJP MP Gautam Gambhir bid farewell to Irfan Pathan as latter anunced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Saturday. Irfan Pathan was one of Team India's lethal pacers during early and mid-2000s and has dismissed best batsmen in business. He has also played an instrumental role in winning a lot of matches for country with his left-arm swing. However, one of his best bowling performances came against arch-rivals Pakistan in a deciding Test match in 2006.

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Gautam Gambhir bids adieu to Irfan Pathan

Hailing former Indian all-rounder, Gautam Gambhir recalled Irfan Pathan's match-defining performances with both ball and bat. Terming Irfan Pathan as best all-rounder he has ever played with, Gautam Gambhir wished him luck for future. Irfan Pathan was an integral part of team until his career was hindered by injuries, which eventually ruled him out of a potential international return.  

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Irfan Pathan's cricketing career

Irfan Pathan has represented India in 29 Tests, 102 One Day Internationals and 24 T20Is from 2003 to 2012. In his cricketing career which lasted for almost a decade, Pathan was a part of many of India's famous triumphs which include historic tour of Pakistan in 2003-04, ICC World T20 2007, Australian tri-series in 2007-08, ICC Champions Trophy 2013, etc. He had played his last international match against South Africa in ICC World T20 2012.  

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Even though veteran pacer was selected in 2013 Champions Trophy squad, he did t feature in a single game as Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side went on to win tournament without tasting a defeat. This was also last time that Pathan would feature in Indian squad. 

Baroda cricketer has represented six teams in Indian Premier League (IPL). He had played for Kings XI Punjab from 2008 to 2010 after which he was roped in by w-defunct Delhi Daredevils where he had played from 2011-2013. In 2014 and 2015, he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings and n went on to represent w-defunct franchises Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017 respectively. 

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